"Administrative fee" for school medical forms!

[disney5]

Just venting...I took my 3 kids to the pediatrician yesterday for their annual physicals. I am covered for physicals with no co-pay through my insurance company.
But low and behold I had to pay $75!!. This past May they implemented a yearly charge of $25 per patient to cover school/camp forms, med forms for the nurse, etc...
I know the reimbursement is the pits for the MD's but I thought this was too much. Yearly, I make copies before I give the forms to the school nurse so I have them for camps if needed.
I guess this is where health care is headed!!

 

[kellia]

Yikes!! Although I guess I can see their point... I had to get 3 different forms signed by the doctor for dd this past year for sports, school and camp and then 2 for each of my twins for daycare and kindergarten. I hope ours doesn't hear about this!

 

[Lewisc]

Do you have the option of getting a school physical from the nurse? I'm only suggesting doing this to satisfy the school physical requirement, not a substitute for a medical by your kids pedi.

 

[disney5]

Yes...actually if you don't submit a school physical it will be done by the school MD in the nurse's office (who actually is part of the practice I go to!!0
But this doesn't help me for the camps my kids go to and I am sure it is not that thorough (plus my kids get their flu shot at their physical)

 

[StillPinballFamily]

Wow! Anywhere to squeeze a buck! We get our first set of the annual physical forms (called the "school and camp" physical forms) for free but then have to pay $5 for an additional set if our original set gets lost.

That $5 is enough of a charge to get me to come home and make photocopies of those puppies *right away* - we need multiple sets of these forms each year, too. Can't imagine $25...

You paid for the physicals (through your health insurance) - it is crazy that that doesn't include a written copy of the results!!! What is next? "Hey, you need a prescription for (x). If you want us to write that down on a piece of paper, it will cost you $25." Sheesh!

 

[mamaminnie]

$25 per kid is extreme. My doctor started charging $10 and I had a huge fight with his staff (not one of my proudest moments ) because I had both kids in the week before this change with strep and strep re-checks and I would have given him the camp forms then.

Seems like a charge is the way it's going to be from now on.

 

[Aye Sea Turtles]

At my peds office the forms are free if you request them at the time of visit, but they charge $10 if you call after the appointment and they have to pull your chart, etc. That I can sort of understand...it's a very busy practice.

$25 per kid seems way out of line. I'd be upset about that too.

 

[amandaraye]

WOW that's nuts!! Our doctor doesn't charge us a penny thank goodness! It's really terrible, because there are a lot of families out there who are really strapped for cash. Many low-income families likely won't get their kids' physicals done because of fees like these.

 

[C.Ann]

I think that's a bit much..

Sometimes I wonder if these kinds of things come along due to - "Well, I hear so and so is doing it.. Why don't we do it too?"

Isn't health care expensive enough?????

 

[genius118899]

Keep in mind that a fair amount of these forms have to be signed by the doctor, not a nurse. They take up time, and, especially if you call at a time other than the appointment, the doctor has to sit down and look through your child's records. Also, please do not take it out on the staff; it's not their fault.

 

[mjkacmom]

$5 per form at our office.

 

[becca-becca]

I work at a physician's office and you cannot believe the amount of forms that have to be filled out (work/sick forms, disability forms, etc.). They take a tremondous amount of the doctor's time not to mention the staff time involved in faxing, filing, copying, mailing, etc. I can see why some practices are beginning to charge, however, I think $25 is extreme, especially if your insurance is already covering the visit.

However, when our patient's come in for a sports physical, either they do it as its own visit or in conjunction with another. We do not charge a separate fee for filling out the forms and we charge a smaller amount than a regular office visit.

Other forms, such as disability/work comp/etc are much more involved than sports physicals.

There are times when the doctor has spent well over 20-30 minutes filling out one form. We don't charge, but for those, we should.

 

[Aristomommy]

I work at a physician's office and you cannot believe the amount of forms that have to be filled out (work/sick forms, disability forms, etc.). They take a tremondous amount of the doctor's time not to mention the staff time involved in faxing, filing, copying, mailing, etc. I can see why some practices are beginning to charge, however, I think $25 is extreme, especially if your insurance is already covering the visit.

However, when our patient's come in for a sports physical, either they do it as its own visit or in conjunction with another. We do not charge a separate fee for filling out the forms and we charge a smaller amount than a regular office visit.

Other forms, such as disability/work comp/etc are much more involved than sports physicals.

There are times when the doctor has spent well over 20-30 minutes filling out one form. We don't charge, but for those, we should.

Well, I think keeping records and filling out necessary paperwork is a part of the job in any medical office. Patients have many medical needs and just as Drs defer writing prescriptions to others (I receive prescriptions from my patients all the time that the secretaries write), all that is needed from them is a signature on the medical forms. That's why there is staff for medical records.

There should be a generic form that would satisfy sports and camps for kids. Our Pulmonologist has a generic form that instructs in asthma care. Although our school would like THEIR form filled out, I give them the generic and they are fine with it.

As far as worker's comp, any Dr. that accepts BWC patients, accepts the responsibility that comes with that type of care. They reimburse more generously than most ins. and certainly medicare but there is more paperwork. Physicians can't expect to see patients for 5 min. and collect a co-pay and ins. payment.

 

[SueInBoston]

Wow, we pay $8 which I think it's unreasonable since it really just a computer generated form. The doctor doesn't even sign it, the nurses use a name stamp. However, it's been $8 for about 10 years.

 

[ChristyJ]

Wow, our kids' annual physical is the only time we don't have a $25. co-pay. I'd be ticked off if that happened at my doctor's office too.

 

[PattnFmly]

We're not charged either. And we also get the physician name "stamped" on the form, not an actual signature.

 

[bjeannep]

After my children get their yearly physical, I am given a printed out summary of the appointment. At the top it says Camp, Sports, School physical. First 1 is free, each additional is $10. I come home from the appointment and immediately scan it into my computer. When I need a copy, I just print it out.

$25 is extremely outrageous.

 

[disneysteve]

At my peds office the forms are free if you request them at the time of visit, but they charge $10 if you call after the appointment and they have to pull your chart, etc.

This is the policy in my office, too. We do not charge for any forms that are done as part of an office visit since we are already being paid for our services at that time. We only charge our form fee ($10) if a patient brings in a form to be filled out that is not being done with a visit.

I've been in practice for over 15 years and I can tell you that the volume of paperwork being requested by patients has grown tremendously. I think liability issues have a lot to do with this. Instead of one annual physical, schools now require one in the fall if playing fall sports and another in the spring for spring sports. The same child also needs a physical form for summer camp, girl scouts and the basketball league at the community center. The church youth group also requires a physical form to participate in their activities. It is not unusual for one child to need 5 or 6 physical forms filled out each year even though we only see them (and get paid) for one visit. The reality is that it takes time and costs the practice money to handle all that paperwork and many, many practices now charge fees for the service.

 

[princesspwrhr]

At our ped office the nurse fills out the form while she does all the prelim with the kids, the dr signs it. Like others on this thread though, I go home and photocopy it. An apt for just a physical is $45 at our ped office, a reg well check is $135.

What ticks me off is that our ins doesn't cover a well child every year. They'll cover a physical for my dh and me as well as a 'well woman' each year for me, but not a well child for the kids each year. Once they turn 3 they only cover them every other year.

 

[bookmama]

my son's doctor charges $5 I'm sure with the way the economy is going it'll be higher soon